A/N

ok, so the ages of Obi-Wan and Padme are changed, as I mentioned in the summary. Obi-Wan is 21, and Padme is 17, just to make this less creepy.

For those of you who read and liked my other story, A fall on the ground, just know that I haven't given up on that one. i'm just taking a break, which has so far been extremely long. Sorry.

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter I

"But Master, I can accompany you, I know it!" Obi-Wan's desperate voice echoed through the stately temple halls.

"Obi-Wan, the council has given me a mission on which you will not be able to help. I am sorry, padawan." Qui-Gon's deep voice brooked no argument, but Obi-Wan persisted.

"Master, please. I am not too young for this mission. Let me help!" He begged. Why was he not good enough? He had tried over and over to please his master, but it just didn't seem to be enough.

"Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon's normally calm voice was getting angry. Obi-Wan had pushed too far, and knew it. He bowed his head humbly and apologized.

"I'm sorry Master. I will do as you ask." He said. Qui-Gon thanked him and left in a hurry to prepare. Obi-Wan made a desperate retreat to his favorite corner of the Temple Gardens. As he sat hidden among the branches of a large tree, he tried to keep his tears at bay. This was ridiculous. He, a 21 year old Jedi Padawan, hiding in a tree and trying not to cry. But here he was.

Why couldn't Qui-Gon see how good he was? He spent extra hours practicing in the training rooms, but Qui-Gon didn't even seem to notice. He had minded Qui-Gon's teaching and had taken the criticism when it came, but was still not allowed on this mission! It was so frustrating.

Obi-Wan stayed in the tree for a while longer before heading to his and Qui-Gon's quarters. As he approached the doors, he closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. To his surprise, Master Yoda was standing in front of him. Obi-Wan had been so caught up in his emotions, that he hadn't thought to check for someone's force presence. Yoda smiled at his surprise.

"Come to talk with you, I have. Speak, we must, of Master Qui-Gon's mission." Yoda's gravely voice said. Obi-Wan felt his heart lift in hope. Could it be possible that he would be able to accompany his master after all?

"Go, you must not. Stay, you also must not." Obi-Wan's heart sank at Yoda's words. "A sabbatical, you must take." A sabbatical? A padawan going on sabbatical was rare, but without their master was unheard of.

"S-sabbatical?" Obi-Wan stuttered, confused. Master Yoda nodded.

"A break, you need. Time to relax, you will have. Push yourself too hard, you do." Master Yoda didn't sound reprimanding, rather, he sounded… longing? "Pick a planet, you must. Inform me of your decision soon, you should." He gave a happy little grunt and ambled off.

Sabbatical? This was ridiculous. He walked the five steps to his quarters, and opened the doors. Qui-Gon was working on packing for his mission. He had been called to the grassland planet of Nashu to help with some top secret mission. When Obi-Wan entered he looked up.

"Obi-Wan. I was looking for you earlier. Because this is an urgent mission, I will be leaving at sunrise tomorrow. Have any of the council members told you what to do while I am gone?" Qui-Gon asked. Obi-Wan sighed.

"Yes, Master. Master Yoda has told me that I will be taking a sabbatical to a planet of my choice." He gave another sigh. Qui-Gon looked slightly confused.

"I wouldn't think a vacation warrants such a negative reaction, Padawan." Qui-Gon smiled slightly, which only annoyed Obi-Wan more. Here he was being forced to sit around, while his master, who would be on an exciting mission, was smiling about it.

Obi-Wan gave him an irritated look.

"A vacation when one does not want it, is not a vacation. Rather a forced trip." He grumbled. Qui-Gon chuckled and continued packing.

Thirty minutes later, Obi-Wan was sulking in his bedroom. Qui-Gon had suggested a number of planets, any one of them ideal for a nice, relaxing sabbatical. When Obi-Wan rejected each one, he had given up and left to get some dinner.

"Why do I have to go on a stupid sabbatical. I don't want to leave Master Qui-Gon. I want to go on a mission. I can do this, but no. Master Yoda and the council decided all I could handle was a vacation." He continued grumbling along these lines while throwing around a rock with the force.

After some time, the door to his bedroom creaked open, and there stood Qui-Gon. He was holding some sort of board with one of his large hands. The other carried darts.

"Well, Padawan. Since you could not decide on your own, I have made you this." Qui-Gon displayed his board, smiling. It was covered in little folded up papers, all stuck onto it. He held out his darts too. Obi-Wan eyed them skeptically.

"What is that, Master?" He asked slowly. Qui-Gon's grin widened.

"This, Obi-Wan, is a dart board. All of these slips of paper have a name of a planet on them. Wherever your dart hits, that is the planet you will go to." Qui-Gon explained. Obi-Wan frowned.

"What if I don't want to go to the planet it lands on." He asked. Qui-Gon sighed a little. Obi-Wan was very frustrating when moody.

"If that happened to be the case, you could rethrow." He handed the darts to Obi-Wan and set up the board a little ways away. "And, you are not allowed to use the force."

Obi-Wan gingerly took the darts and turned them over in his hand. He focused on the board, and aimed his dart. He threw it, and it landed near the top left corner of the board. He stood there as Qui-Gon ran toward the board.

Qui-Gon jogged back and handed Obi-Wan a slip of paper, with the dart still in it. Obi-Wan unfolded it.

"Naboo." He said. Obi-Wan wasn't entirely displeased with that. He had never been to Naboo, and had heard it was a lovely planet with a nice climate. The people of it apparently focused a lot of their attention on art. Maybe he could get some lessons.

"How long will you be gone, Master?" He asked. Qui-Gon smiled.

"I see you're already making plans." He joked. "As to your question, it could be anywhere from three weeks to two months. Possibly more, possibly less." Qui-Gon mused. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.

"You could have just said I don't know." Obi-Wan said.

"Ah, but then I'd have to admit that I didn't know something." Qui-Gon quipped. He was glad that this idea had gotten Obi-Wan's spirit up. He had been very upset all afternoon. More upset than not getting to go on this mission warranted. Was there something else at play?

"Come on Obi-Wan. Let's go get you some dinner." Qui Gon suggested. Feeling much better, Obi-Wan took him up on it. They headed out and made their way towards the dining hall. As they walked, they crossed paths with Master Windu. He looked up from the datapad he was studying.

"Ah, Master Qui-Gon, Padawan Kenobi. As we're all here, Padawan, have you decided a place for your sabbatical?" Mace asked. Obi-Wan nodded.

"Yes." He cringed when his voice cracked. "That is to say, I picked Naboo." Obi-Wan added in a hurry. Master Windu nodded, writing something on his screen.

"Excellent. We actually have a ship leaving for Naboo at sunrise. That won't give you much time to prepare, but you can leave then if you'd like. If not, the next ship is in four days." Mace waited for an answer.

"I uh, I'll go tomorrow morning." Obi-Wan said, deciding quickly. Mace nodded, marked something else, and continued on his way.

"Well, we had better eat quickly so you can go pack." Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan nodded and they headed into the dining room.

After eating, Obi-Wan was rapidly packing in his rooms. He grabbed most of his tunics and pants, and shoved them into a light traveling case. He grabbed a few cloaks and two pairs of boots. Grabbing some necessary toiletries he closed his overflowing case and stuck it by the door. After changing into some more comfortable sleeping clothes, he fell into his bed, and asleep.

Padme Naberrie was ready to get out of this speeder. It was late that evening and they were currently driving towards their lake resort. Padme had gotten home from the last day of school, grabbed her bags and left. It was a long ride to Varykino if you took it at the leisurely pace they were.

"Are we almost there yet?" She asked her mother, who was sitting in front. Her mother nodded and turned around.

"Yes, Padme. We should be arriving in about ten minutes. Why don't you put your shoes on?" Jobal, her mother, replied. Padme leaned down and started doing just that.

True to her word, they arrived ten minutes later. Padme and her family climbed out of the speeder. Yawning, she grabbed her bags from the back, and headed into the house.

Obi-Wan jumped awake as soon as Qui-Gon touched his shoulder. He hadn't slept much that night. As loath as he was to admit it, this would be his first time alone for so long. Even before he had become a padawan, he'd had the other crechelings and his teachers. The temple had always had people in it to which he could go to. Now, he wouldn't have anyone to just talk too on a daily basis.

"Our ships leave in 15 minutes, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon said. He left and shut the door behind -Wan got out of bed and dressed in a tunic. He took his traveling bag and left his room. Yawning, he stepped into the living room of their quarters. Qui-Gon handed him a wrapped bag full of still warm food.

"Your flight shouldn't take too long, but just in case you get hungry." Qui-Gon said. Obi-Wan tilted his head slightly. Qui-Gon was acting like a worried mother sending their child to it's first day of school.

"Thank you, Master." Obi-Wan replied. "I'll see you in a few weeks, I guess." He opened the door and stepped out, Qui-Gon behind him. They parted ways, each heading to separate hangars.

Obi-Wan arrived at the ship 5 minutes before it was scheduled to leave. The pilot placed his bag onto a rack and let him aboard.

Qui-Gon's idea of short was obviously much longer than Obi-Wan's. Five hours later they were almost to Naboo. Obi-Wan couldn't wait to get to the Jedi Resort . Hopefully there would be some peace and quiet there.

Padme was already exhausted and it wasn't even noon. Granted, she had arrived very late last night, but it was mostly because of her cousins. Jobal had conveniently forgotten to mention that cousins would be vacationing with them.

She truly loved her cousins, but the oldest one was 7, and the youngest was 3. The twins were between these ages. They were a handful to say the least. She had been awakened by them very early this morning, and been forced to participate in their games ever since.

Sola wasn't around either, as she had a very dear friend who had come up to Varykino too. Padme had invited a few of her close friends, but none had been able to come. So now she was at the mercy of Kytra and Kalyn, the twins.

The twins were 5, and so, according to them, they knew everything. Garik was 7 and hated anything remotely girly. Finally, Nira was 3, and in the worst stage of her terrible threes. They were all very adorable and very demanding.

Padme jumped as she heard the loud blast of a ship coming to port. There was a landing pad near Varykino, but it was rarely used. Most people who visited came in their speeders from cities in Naboo. She wondered who was using it. Before she had time to consider it more, she was yanked by the twins somewhere else.

Obi-Wan climbed out of the ship and stretched. Looking around he saw he was in a very scenic area of Naboo. He took his bag when the pilot offered it and walked to a speeder rental. He secured one and began driving towards the address that the council had sent him.

15 minutes later, he arrived at an elegant house on the edge of a lake. He hopped out of the speeder and clipped his lightsaber to his belt. He walked into the house, looking around. The architecture was extremely different from anything on Coruscant. Instead of being bulky and efficient, it was graceful and most of the arches didn't really even serve a purpose.

He unpacked his bag into the dresser in the first bedroom he came across. Master Windu had informed him that no other Jedi would be at this retreat when he arrived, nor would it be likely that any would join him. Obi-Wan sighed. It was looking to be a very lonely sabbatical.

As if to prove him wrong, the doorbell rang. Confused, Obi-Wan walked to the door. He gripped his lightsaber, mostly out of habit, and opened the door. A young teenage human stood in his doorway with a flier. He seemed surprised that anyone had even answered, but recovered quickly.

"Um.. Hello. My name is Locke Streng. My mom teaches a free art class, and has me pass around fliers. Uh… Are you interested?" Locke asked. Obi-Wan almost said no, but remembered his idea to possibly get art lessons when he decided to go to Naboo. He reconsidered and decided.

"Yes. That does sound intriguing. Where would I sign up?" Obi-Wan asked him. Locke relaxed and handed him a clipboard.

"Just sign your name here please. And er… put your address here, so we can contact you about class dates and times." Locke cheerfully announced. The boy had a rather sunny disposition, Obi-Wan noted as he signed. He gave back the clipboard. Locke handed him a little paper with information about the class.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi. You don't hear Obi-Wan very often. It's a cool name though." Locke said. Once you got him started, he didn't seem to stop. "Say, where're you from?" He asked.

"I'm from Coruscant." Obi-Wan said shortly. He didn't really know how to talk to this boy. He rarely interacted with non-Jedi when he wasn't on a mission. Locke only smiled broader.

"I've been off-world before, but never to Coruscant. What's it like?" Locke asked. Obi-Wan considered the question.

'"It's large. I suppose there isn't really a different way to describe it. Very tall, um… crowded." Obi-Wan said. Locke nodded, but didn't seem to be paying very much attention to what Obi-Wan was saying. He eyed Obi-Wan's outfit and barely visible lightsaber hilt.

"Say, are you a Jedi? I've seen Jedi around Naboo sometimes, but never talked to one." Locke asked. Obi-Wan gave an uncomfortable half smile. He didn't like talking about himself and this conversation was dragging along in a very awkward fashion.

"Um… yes." Obi-Wan said, praying that this boy wouldn't pry. He didn't want to answer personal questions right now. Locke seemed to catch the negative vibes coming his way.

"That's so cool! Well I got to hand out the rest of these fliers. See you around Obi-Wan!" The overly talkative boy sauntered down the steps and left Obi-Wan alone, finally. Sighing, he turned around and shut the door. This was going to be a very long vacation

Please read and review! i'll try to have the next chapter out relatively soon !